Kosovo (Hansard, 20 July 1999)

§ 16. Mr. Nigel Griffiths (Edinburgh, South)
What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the reconstruction of Kosovo. [90472]

§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook)
My European Union colleagues and I discussed the reconstruction of Kosovo at yesterday's meeting of the General Affairs Council. We will discuss it again next week at the Sarajevo summit of the stability pact.
We have won the military conflict that has liberated Kosovo from oppression, but our task will not be complete until we have won the peace by building a sustainable economy and a democratic society for all the people of Kosovo.

§ Mr. Griffiths
Does my right hon. Friend share my concern about reports that the United Nations is running out of money to fund the vital reconstruction of villages such as Qirez and Polac, which I visited in the last weekend of June, and where every house, school and mosque has been destroyed?

§ Mr. Cook
My hon. Friend, from the evidence of his own visit, is right to draw the attention of the House to the task that remains before us, which is immense. I do not think that the final problem will be one of resources. The European Union and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development together will undertake most of the reconstruction effort, and resources are available to them and have already been earmarked within the EU. However, we are concerned at the slow pace of development on the ground. That is why we supported the appeal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations for a trust fund to start now on small projects that can provide confidence and hope in Kosovo, and why Britain was the very first member of the United Nations to make a contribution, by offering $1 million.

§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)
Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that conditions will be attached to the reconstruction aid being given through the European Community? Will he also say which specific external programmes will be cut because of the additional reconstruction aid agreed by the Budget Council last week?

§ Mr. Cook
I am not sure what conditions the hon. Lady has in mind. Let us be clear that we are providing the money not to any Government of Kosovo, and far less to any Government of Yugoslavia. The funds being provided for the reconstruction of Kosovo are part of a United Nations effort, of which we are part. We will, of course, want to make sure that that money is used prudently. On the question of the budget, the money will come from category 4, which at present is underspent, and we do not anticipate other parts of category 4 being cut back.

§ Dr. Nick Palmer (Broxtowe)
I understand from animal welfare groups that the state of meat control in Kosovo is extremely serious, because the Serbian heads of the meat management departments who controlled the quality of meat have left and taken much of the equipment. It seems to be a general problem that a great deal of the administration of Kosovo is no longer functioning because of the withdrawal of the Serbian management.
A constituent of mine inquired about the possibility of going to Kosovo to help with the peacekeeping efforts in a specialist role, and was told that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was promoting such vacancies for British staff there. That was news to me, as it may be to a number of hon. Members. Will the Foreign Secretary encourage hon. Members to seek constituents who can help in such specialist roles in Kosovo for short-term periods while the economy gets back on its feet?

§ Mr. Cook
I congratulate my hon. Friend on finding a question relating to the reconstruction of Kosovo that I have never previously been asked. I shall consider it and write to my hon. Friend. On the broad principle, he is right. One of the revealing features about the extent to which the 1989 autonomy was cancelled by Serbia, is the stark degree to which all public industry and services were in the hands of Serbian, not Kosovo-Albanian, management. Many of those dismissed in 1989 are still in Kosovo and available to undertake such tasks, but in the short run there is an immense appetite within Kosovo for people with specialist skills who can help in the management of the reconstruction. We have appealed for such people—not just from central Government, as there is also a real role to be played by local government servants working at a local level in Kosovo.

§ Mr. Paul Keetch (Hereford)
I understand the huge and urgent requirement for reconstruction in Kosovo, but can the Foreign Secretary assure the House that that aim will not divert the Government from their long-term strategic support for other countries in the region, most notably, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania?

§ Mr. Cook
The hon. Gentleman is right. When we travel to Sarajevo next Friday, we will have an opportunity to give the countries of the region the clear message that we are determined that the outcome of the Kosovo conflict will be a turning point for the region and that we will bring down trade barriers with the countries of the region, promote a climate for private investment there, and tackle the security issues which have resulted in far too high military expenditure in some of the countries of the western Balkans. We must ensure that we not only reconstruct Kosovo, but act throughout the region to prevent future conflict of the same kind.